1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a sprayer boom on a crop sprayer, and more particularly to modular bracket system for mounting plumbing to the sprayer boom.
2. Description of Related Art
The high crop yields of modern agribusiness require application of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Dispersing these chemicals onto high acreage fields requires specialized machines mounted on or towed by a vehicle. An example of such a machine is the self-propelled crop sprayer.
A common design for a self-propelled crop sprayer includes a dedicated chassis with a tank, boom arms, and nozzles connected to the boom arms. The tank contains fluid such as fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Boom arms extend outward from the sides of the dedicated chassis. Boom plumbing contains supply lines and a plurality of nozzles spaced apart along the length of the boom arms at a standard spacing distance which corresponds to the spray pattern of the nozzles. In operation, as the crop sprayer crosses the field, fluid is pumped from the tank through the supply lines along the boom arms, and out through the nozzles. This allows the self-propelled sprayer to distribute the fluid along a relatively wide path. The length of conventional boom arms may vary from, for example, 6 meters (18 feet) up to 46 meters (150 feet), but smaller or longer booms are possible. The boom arms typically swing in for transport and out for operation.
Conventionally, pipes and hoses are supported along the boom arms with flat or bent metal brackets attached to the boom with u-bolts. Attachment of the pipes and hoses with the u-bolts can be time consuming. Based on the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a configurable plumbing mounting system that reduces the amount of hardware, enhances functionality, durability, flexibility in mounting options and simplifies assembly.